EU Sanctions on Ukraine and Russia

Posted on: 10/03/2014

Trading with Ukraine: On 20 February 2014, in response to the deteriorating situation and increasing levels of violence and repression in Ukraine, the EU Foreign Affairs Council introduced targeted sanctions including asset freeze and visa ban for certain individuals. At the same time Member States agreed to suspend, until further
notice, all export licensing to Ukraine for equipment which might be used for
internal repression; this included, in the UK, the amendments of 3 Military OGELs to remove Ukraine as an accepted destination (for repair/ demonstration and exhibition).

In addition on 11th March 2014 the EU agreed to freeze assets of ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych and 16 senior officials suspected of misusing state funds and violating human right at an emergency summit in Brussels. The referendum in the Crimea scheduled for Sunday 16th March 2014 "would not be legal under Ukraine's constitution and therefore would not be accepted by the United States and its international allies and partners" according to

Sanctions on Russia: 10th March 2014 the European Union was said to be preparing fresh sanctions such as imposing travel bans and freezing assets against Russia in response to the ongoing crisis in Crimea. This comes as NATO announced it was to deploy reconnaissance aircraft in Poland to monitor events in Ukraine. "I can confirm that the preparatory work has started," the EU's external action service Maja Kocijancic said on Monday. The fresh sanctions could be formally approved at a summit of EU foreign ministers on 17th March 2014. This would mark the second stage in the EU’s three-step response agreed at a summit last week. EU leaders had agreed to a three-stage process of increasing pressure on Russia over its incursion in Crimea, beginning with the suspension of visa talks and negotiations over a new investment agreement. The third step would likely involve an arms embargo and trade restrictions.

In Washington, the White House gave its strongest indication yet that Russia is effectively being thrown out of the G8 group of industrialised nations on Monday, and insisted the world community would refuse to accept the results of a Crimean referendum later in the week. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any sanctions would "boomerang" back on the USA and EU. We were advised by one S&H client on Friday that a shipment had been detained leaving Russia for the USA … we’d be interested to learning if your trade is affected by this situation. Contact us

International Trade Up-dates into your inbox twice a month

What to keep up to date on customs and international trade issues – subscribe to our OneCall service which combines regular practical updates (Did You Know?) and a helpline support service. MORE INFORMATION